Johnny Depp Details Return for 'Pirates of the Caribbean'

Even when actor Johnny Depp stepped out of the limelight, he has still been in the minds of fans across the world.

Over the last year, Johnny Depp moved out of Hollywood to pursue career options in Europe. The actor and musician has been touring with his band, Hollywood Vampires, over the last several months and even played a tribute show to his long-time friend Jeff Beck following the sad passing of the beloved entertainer. Depp made his way back to the Cannes Film Festival for the first time in a couple of years to debut his new film, Jeanne Du Barry (2023). Though many fans expressed backlash towards the decision to have him be a part of the festivities, many others were excited to see him back.

Of course, the biggest question surrounding Johnny Depp for more than the last year has been his potential return to Hollywood. Depp was reportedly replaced by Warner Bros. in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice 2, marking the second role the movie studio had cut the actor from, as he was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen in the latest installment of the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

But, what about Disney?

Inside the Magic has been covering the potential for a Johnny Depp return to Pirates of the Caribbean since the defamation trial with ex-wife Amber Heard came to an end last summer. Depp made the Captain Jack Sparrow character come alive in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). The blockbuster spawned four more sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), all of which combined for more than $4.5 billion at the worldwide box office.

Since that point, fans have wondered what might be next, but huge obstacles stand in the way.

Unsealed court documents revealed that Disney and Depp had major differences when filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales while the actor was going through his divorce with Amber Heard. Depp reportedly showed up to work late, and there were numerous alleged incidents that unfolded both on set and outside of filming.

Inside the Magic covered comments from Disney where he shared his disdain for the company’s scriptwriting.

“Why must you have these f****** heinous subplots?” Depp said in an interview several years ago. “It’s convoluted. There is not a f****** soul that wants to see Captain Jack Sparrow sad.”

The interesting portion of all these culminations, however, is the latest coming from Depp. We previously covered that a Depp insider put to bed the idea that the actor would never return to Disney. As a matter of fact, it seems it’s the exact opposite. The insider shared that Depp would return to Disney “for the right project.”

This essentially was seen as an “open challenge” to Disney to create a script worth having Captain Jack Sparrow return for. Disney has remained “noncommittal” to the idea of Johnny Depp returning, but it’s easy to see the relationship and divide between the company and the actor will be a big obstacle for them to overcome.

Really, it comes down to three things that we’ll outline here, all of which have been noted by sources close to Johnny Depp:

#1 Script and direction

Johnny Depp isn’t willing to return to Disney if the project doesn’t interest him. He’s made that clear. In the past, he took projects and portrayed the role of Captain Jack Sparrow, even though he clearly didn’t like the script. That’s not going to be the case this time. It would almost be a guarantee that if Depp were to return, he’d want to serve as an Executive Producer alongside Jerry Bruckheimer to make sure the film lives up to expectations.

#2 Money

Disney isn’t in the position to offer Depp $300 million, but the company can still pay him a pretty penny. This would have to be a big-budget film and would need both Depp and potentially even a couple more big names to make it work.

#3 Fan support

Johnny Depp has remained steadfast that he wants to be a big entertainer. He loves his fans and, ultimately, this is probably the main reason he’s still considering returning to Disney. The outpouring of support that fans have shown him showcases just how loyal of a base he has, and fan support is the major way that Disney will continue to consider him.

Do you think Johnny Depp and Disney will ever reunite? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!